Unknown location
Two FBI agents in full black body armor, riot helmets and black leather boots ran down the hallway as they held the rifles in their hands and the red light filled the hallway.
"Are you at your destination?" the male voice asked over their ear pieces.
"We're almost there," one of the FBI agents said and the FBI agents stopped in front of the door. The doors hissed open after the first FBI agent pushed the buttons on the keypad near the doors and they quickly stood on either side of the doorway. One of the FBI agents quickly looked in the room as he looked at Smecker lying on the bed and Smecker had his eyes closed.
"See anything?" the male voice asked.
"Just the prisoner," the FBI agent said.
"Then why did the alarms go off?"
"How the hell do I know?! Doesn't anything show up on the monitors?!"
"They're still down!"
"Great," the other FBI agent said with a sigh.
"We are sending backup down there just in case."
"Thanks a lot," the first FBI agent said.
"Should we go in?" the other FBI agent asked when she was startled by the figure standing in the doorway.
"Hey. What's up?" the intern asked. He was dressed in white with white sneakers on his feet and had shaggy, dark hair and a full beard.
"Who!? What!? How long have you been in there?!" the first FBI agent asked.
"Came in just after the red lights went on. Why?"
"Was there anyone in there with you?!"
"Just my partner," the intern said and another intern appeared behind him. The second intern had slick back, black hair and dark eyes and he wore white with white sneakers.
"What took you assholes so long?!" the other intern asked as his eyes slightly bugged out.
"Chill," the first intern said then looked at the FBI agents.
"Is there anyone else in there?" the first FBI agent asked.
"Just him," the first intern said as he looked back at Smecker.
"Is he still alive?"
"Last time I checked," he said with a grin. "Look. We gotta go. See you on the flipside."
The interns walked by them before they could say anything or move and the FBI agents watched them head down the hallway. The interns went around the corner and the first FBI agent frowned.
"Hey! What's going on down there?!" the male voice asked over the ear piece while several more FBI agents headed down the hallway.
"We were talking to the two interns who were in the prisoner's room," the first FBI agent said.
"What are you talking about?! You were talking to yourselves!"
"Hold on," the second intern said as she looked at the security cameras on the walls. "Didn't you guys see them?"
"The cameras in the hall are down."
"What?!" the first FBI agent said and they ran down the hallway. They went around the corner to see a dead end on both ends of the hallway and no sign of fire doors or exits. "What the fuck?!"
"Did you find them?" the male voice asked over the earpiece.
"That's a negative. Both hallways lead to a dead end."
"Where the hell did those guys go?" the female FBI agent asked.
"Are you sure there was someone in the prisoner's room?" the male voice asked over the earpiece.
"Yes!" the first FBI agent said with a growl.
"Never mind that," a male voice said over the earpiece. "We need Medical down here STAT!"
"Is the prisoner dead?!" the other male voice asked.
"No. He's still breathing. He just doesn't look so good."
"Shit."
"I sent an alert to the Director," the first male voice said over the earpiece and the FBI agents ran down the hallway.
The Golden Cactus Ranch
Annabelle placed the platter with the apple, peach and cherry pie on the table as she glanced at her family and she smiled. It had been a long time since she had seen so many people sitting around the dinner table and she blinked the tears out of the corners of her eyes.
"Are you alright, Mother?" Connor asked.
"I'm fine," Annabelle said with a small nod then she started cutting the pie before placing the slices on the dessert plates. She served the pieces of pie then sat down and Doc gave her a worried look. "I'm fine."
"Dad? Remember when we were on the top of that ride?" Chandler asked as he looked at Daniel. "We went straight down and the water went everywhere!"
"We got soaked," Peter said with a grin. "Dad went over to Mom and shook the water out of his hair at her."
"I hugged her, too," Connor said and Lisa lightly shoved him.
"Papa did the same with Mama," Mark said and Murphy saw the small blush moving over Darcy's cheeks.
"I couldn't go on the ride. I was too little," Nichole said with a small pout.
"Maybe next time," Annabelle said and Nichole nodded.
"Oddly enough, my family never wanted to go to Disneyworld," Daniel said.
"Why not?" Chandler asked.
"They just didn't want to."
"Hey, Murphy," Connor said and Murphy looked at him. "Do you remember Billy Fitzroy?"
"Aye. I do. Didn't his family go t'Disneyworld?" Murphy asked.
"They did. An' he kept talkin' about it fer weeks."
"That ended when you punched him in th'mouth," Annabelle said and she pointed the fork at Connor. "I had t'take time off from work an' talk with Father Mullins."
"Ma! He wouldn't stop talkin' about it!" Connor explained with a small whine.
"Still doesn't mean you had t'punch him."
"She's right," Daniel agreed when someone knocked on the front door and they looked at each other. Lisa got up when she left the room and Connor followed her down the hallway after he had gotten up from the table. They walked to the front door when she looked out the small window near the door and she saw the driver standing on the porch.
"It's his driver," Lisa whispered and Connor ran down the hallway. He headed into the dining room and the others look at him,
"Uncle Daniel? I think yer driver needs t'talk with you," Connor said and Daniel stood. He followed Connor out of the dining room as they headed down the hallway and Daniel looked out the small window near the door.
"Stand back," Daniel said and Connor and Lisa headed for the bottom of the stairs. Daniel opened the front door slightly as the driver looked at him then stood a little straighter. "What is it?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir. I just received word about him," the driver said as he arched up his eyebrows.
"Are you talking about Agent Smecker?" Daniel asked and Connor sighed, rolling his eyes.
"I knew it. He got out," Lisa whispered and Connor held her to his side.
"What has happened to Agent Smecker?"
"Uh…," the driver said as he barely saw Connor and Daniel frowned.
"You can talk freely."
"I was told you need to hear the news yourself."
Daniel closed the door as he looked at Connor and Lisa and Lisa glared at him.
"Go get your brother," Daniel said to Connor and Connor nodded. Connor ran down the hallway to the dining room and Lisa walked to Daniel.
"You told us Smecker wouldn't be able to get out," Lisa said with a growl.
"I don't know if he has somehow managed to escape," Daniel said with a sigh. "Most likely, he might have died."
"You better hope so."
Like most FBI agents, Daniel's driver knew who Connor and Murphy were and Daniel saw a small light of fear in his driver's eyes.
Connor and Murphy ran down the hallway then stood in front of Daniel and Daniel opened the front door. The driver looked at him then at Connor and Murphy then stood back so Connor could open the screen door. They headed outside as they headed for the black sedan and the driver opened the back doors of the black sedan. Daniel, Connor and Murphy got in the black sedan as the driver closed the doors then stood next to the black sedan. Lisa was standing on the porch while she glared at the driver and the driver swallowed the lump in his throat.
In the black sedan, Daniel removed the laptop from under the seat as he lifted the top of the laptop and pushed the power button. The screen flickered on as Connor and Murphy looked at the screen and Daniel typed on the keyboard.
"How are we gonna know if whatever they tell you is legit?" Connor asked and Daniel glanced at him.
"We don't," Daniel said when the screen flickers then a man's face appeared on the screen. Connor and Murphy noticed the fear and guilty look on the man's face and in his eyes and Daniel gave the man a blank look. "Report."
"Yes, Sir," the man said with a nod. "Around fifteen minutes ago, the cameras in Prisoner Eight's room started flickering."
"Did anyone try to reestablish the image?"
"Yes, Sir. But it appears that something or someone was interfering with any attempts to restore camera control."
Connor and Murphy locked eyes as they had a silent conversation and a ball of ice formed in their chests.
"Did you send agents down to investigate?" Daniel asked and Murphy heard the anger in his voice.
"Yes, Sir," the man said.
"Did they find anything?"
"According to their report, there were two men in the room."
"Were these men detained?"
"No, Sir."
"Why not?!"
"According to their report, they were unable to move."
"These men used a taser on them?"
"No. They just couldn't move."
"They just couldn't move," he repeated and Connor glanced at Murphy. "What happened next?"
"The men left. Once they were able to move, they went after the men."
"Did they catch them?"
"Uh…."
"Did they catch them!?"
"No, Sir. In fact, the men disappeared."
"How is that possible?!"
"We don't know, Sir. The agents reported they followed down the hallway and around the corner. Both ends of the other hallway ended in a dead end. There was no way they could have gotten away."
"Did any of the security cameras get an image of these men?"
"No, Sir. The cameras in the hallways were compromised as well."
"I see," Daniel said with a cold look in his eyes. "What about Prisoner Eight? Is he still alive?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Was he checked by the medical team?"
"Yes, Sir."
Connor noticed the nervous look in the man's eyes and Connor lightly nudged Daniel. Daniel nodded as he looked at the screen and the man swallowed the lump in his throat.
"What happened to Prisoner Eight?" Daniel asked.
"According to Medical? Prisoner Eight is in a deep coma," the man said.
"Do they have any idea how that happened?" he asked while arching an eyebrow.
"They're still running tests."
"Do they know if he will wake up at some point?"
"According to Medical, the coma seems to be irreversible."
"I see. Are the agents who saw those men still at the compound?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Have them placed in isolation."
"Yes, Sir."
The screen went blank as Daniel typed on the keyboard then he closed the lid of the laptop after turning off the power. Connor and Murphy looked at him as Daniel closed his eyes, breathed in deeply a few times then opened his eyes.
"Damn," Daniel grumbled.
"Guess we're gonna have t'go back into exile," Connor said as he looked out the window at Lisa standing on the porch.
"No. Not until I find out what's going on."
"How long will that take?" Murphy asked.
"It will take a few days. A week at most."
"Then I guess you better get goin'," Connor said and he and Murphy got out of the black sedan. They closed the doors then headed for the porch and the driver started the engine. They watched the black sedan head down the drive when they headed for Lisa and she opened the screen door. They headed inside and the screen door closed behind them.
Two weeks later
The black sedan came to a stop near the stairs leading to the porch as the driver turned off the engine and he got out of the black sedan. He walked to the back door as he opened the door and Connor, Lisa and Murphy exited the black sedan. Daniel had sent the black sedan for Connor and Murphy to come to where Smecker had been taken and Lisa had gone with them. The driver got back in the black sedan as he started the engine and the black sedan headed down the drive. Connor, Murphy and Lisa headed up the stairs as Connor opened the screen door then the front door and they headed in the farmhouse.
"Well?!" Annabelle asked after they had gone into the family room and Connor looked at her and the others sitting on the couches, recliners or on the floor.
"Uncle wasn't lying. Smecker's in an irreversible coma," Connor said as he removed the envelope from the pocket of his black Navy pea coat and he handed the envelope to Diego. Diego opened the envelope as he read the information then he handed the information to Annie. After Annabelle, Sibeal, Doc and Darcy read the information, Darcy handed the information to Connor and Connor placed the information back in the envelope.
"Did Daniel find out who those men were?" Sibeal asked.
"No. But we were able t'talk with th'agents. I did ask them t'describe what th'men looked like."
"What did they look like?" Chandler asked.
"I'm not sure. But I have a feelin' our guardian angels helped make sure Smecker is outta our lives fer good."
"You mean Rocco and Romeo?" Annie asked and Connor nodded.
"Th'only downside is he might die. Not from th'coma as much as him bein' paralyzed from th'chest down," Murphy said.
"He's right. There are a lot of things that could kill him," Connor said.
"Well… I hope you don't go blamin' yerselves. That bastard deserves it," Annabelle said.
"Ann!" Sibeal said with a stunned look and she shrugged her shoulders.
"Anything else happen?" Annie asked.
"There's this," Murphy said as he and Connor removed two billfolds from the pockets of their black Navy pea coats and they handed the billfolds to Diego. Diego opened the billfolds when he looked at the shiny FBI badges and the photo ID cards.
"You joined the FBI?!" Diego asked.
"Uncle made us agents," Connor said and Diego smiled when he looked at the ID card.
"According to this, you guys are retired," he said as Diego showed Annie the ID card and pointed to the little mark at the bottom.
"Aye. We are," Murphy said as he took the billfold with his ID card and showed the ID card and the badge to Darcy.
"Then I guess I better put these with Diego's ID," Annie said and she removed the billfold from Murphy's hand then she left the room.
Smiling, Connor and Lisa went to sit on the couch and Murphy picked Nichole off the floor then went to sit on the recliner with Ebony resting on the top of the recliner.
Later that night, the house was dark while everyone slept and the moonlight cast long shafts of light along the floor. The shafts of light were broken by a man standing in the hallway. He looked into the room to his left and he saw Sibeal sleeping under the bedding.
"Sleep well, Brudder," Noah whispered then he looked into the room to his right. He stood in the doorway as Annabelle snuggled next to Doc and the bedding was up to their chests. Noah felt a small pang of jealously, but he knew she needed someone who made her happy and Noah sighed.
"Sleep well, Sweetheart," Noah whispered then he headed down the hallway.
He stopped in front of the door to Nichole's room while the door opened and he could just see her sleeping under the bedding. He walked to the bed as Noah looked down at her and he could just see Fuzz tucked under her right arm. An old ache moved through him as Noah knelt down on his haunches and he watched her sleeping for a few minutes. He stood up as he smiled and Nichole yawned, but didn't wake up.
"Sleep well, Little Angel," Noah whispered.
"Night, Pawpaw," Nichole whispered and he blinked his eyes a few times. He walked out of the room, went down the hallway and stood in front of the door to the boys' room. The door opened as he looked at Mark, Chandler and Peter sleeping under the bedding and he placed his hands in the pockets of the black Navy pea coat before walking to the beds.
"I'd swear th'three of you came from m'boys if it wasn't fer th'fact you had different fathers," he said while he looked at the boys. "Sleep well."
"Night, Pawpaw," the boys said then turned to face the wall and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
He walked down the hallway then stopped at Murphy and Darcy's room as the door opened and he could just see Darcy sleeping under the bedding. The cat was snuggled next to her as Ebony lifted its head while Noah looked at the glowing eyes then the cat lowered its head. He walked to the bed when he noticed Murphy wasn't in bed and Noah frowned.
"Where th'hell are you?" Noah whispered. He left the room and walked down the hallway. He stopped at the door to Connor and Lisa's room as the door opened and he could just see Lisa sleeping under the bedding. Noah headed for the bed as he looked down, but Connor wasn't in bed. "You, too?"
Noah left the room and walked down the hallway. He headed for Annie and Diego's room when the door opened and he headed into the room. Devil opened its eyes as the gray wolf sat up then wagged its tail.
"Some guard dog you are," Noah said with a grin and he headed for the bed. He looked down at Diego sleeping under the bedding, but Annie wasn't in bed. "You as well?"
Noah left the room while the gray wolf settled down on the bed and Noah headed down the hallway. He went down the stairs when he noticed the light was on in the family room and he headed for the doorway. He saw Connor, Murphy and Annie sitting on the couch and Connor had the television remote in his left hand. Connor glanced at Annie when he hit the mute button then turned to face Annie.
"Why did you do that?" Annie asked
"I need t'ask you summat," Connor said.
"What do you wanna ask me?"
"Why didn't you an' Diego go on vacation with us? It was a family trip."
"I know."
"We were celebratin' Connor an' I adoptin' th'kids," Murphy said while turning to look at her.
"Yeah," she said with a nod.
"Then why?" Connor asked.
"Is summat wrong with you an' Diego?" Murphy asked.
"Nothing is wrong with Diego," Annie said then sighed.
"Then it's you? Is that why Ma, Doc an' Uncle are here?" Connor asked.
"Well…."
"Annie," Murphy said with a small growl.
"Ok. I'm late."
"Late fer what?" he asked and Annie gave him a frustrated look. Connor thought for a few seconds when he realized what she wasn't saying.
"Are you tellin' us there's gonna be five kids runnin' around here?" Connor asked with a small grin.
"More like six," Annie said and Murphy's eyes widened.
"Oh…!" Murphy said and he carefully hugged her. Connor hugged her as well and Annie placed her head against Murphy's right shoulder.
"How far along are you?" Murphy asked.
"A little over two months," she said.
"You sure there's two babies in there?"
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Connor asked.
"We tried. But the night we were gonna tell you was the night Uncle Daniel stayed for dinner and you guys kept talking about your trip."
"Oh," Murphy said.
"We did dominate the conversation," Connor agreed.
"Sorry," Murphy said to Annie as he gave her a sad look.
"I forgive you," she said then sighed.
"Now what's wrong?" Connor asked.
"I was just thinking about Da. He's not going to be here when the twins are born."
"I'm sure he knows."
"He's one of our guardian angels," Murphy said.
"It's still not fair. He's missing out on so much," Annie said.
"Aye. You're right. I am. I missed out on seein' all of you grow up. It's true th'callin' was important. But so were you. That's why I placed that photo of yer mother an' th'two of you in my hat," Noah said as he looked at Connor and Murphy then he looked at Annie. "I couldn't find th'photo of you an' me, Angel. If I had known that was gonna be th'last time I'd see any of you then I would have looked harder. Prayin' an' thinkin' of all of you was th'only thing which kept me sane while in solitary. Was I happy when I finally reunited with th'two of you? I was shocked t'learn th'bastards I was sent to kill were my own flesh. My boys. That's why I was there that night. I was gonna kill him. Instead? I found you two an' yer dead friend. I knew I hadda get you outta there. I hated th'thought of you bein' called, but there was nothin' I could do about it. That was th'main reason I took you into exile. I wanted you t'do th'one thing I couldn't do. Stop. We all know how that ended."
Noah paused then he looked at Annie.
"As fer you. I remember how nervous I was when I first held you. You were so tiny. You weren't early. Just tiny. My little angel. I am so damn proud of th'woman you've grown into an' I know you're gonna be a great mother. Jus' hope all of you can someday forgive me fer what happened. I really do love you."
Noah moved away from the doorway then slowly disappeared in a white light.
"I gotta take a piss,' Connor suddenly said then got up and headed for the doorway. He stood in the hallway when a strong scent of cigar smoke and he frowned.
"What's wrong?" Annie said while she and Murphy got off the couch and walked to him.
"Don't you smell that?"
Annie and Murphy sniffed the air and Annie frowned while Murphy blinked his eyes a few times.
"It smells like cigar smoke," Annie said.
"I recognize the scent. It's th'cigars Da used t'smoke," Murphy said.
"That's what I thought." Connor said.
"Does that mean he was here?" Annie asked.
"Told you he was one of our guardian angels," Murphy said with a grin.
"You think he heard us?"
"Aye. I think he did."
"Uh….," Annie said then she looked up at the ceiling. "Da? If you're still around. I just want you to know it was true that I was really angry with you for not being around, but that's in the past. I forgive you. I miss you. I love you."
"She's right," Connor said as he looked up at the ceiling. "It's true there were times I really hated you. You left Ma and us without a word. Murphy an' I used t'think it was our fault. That we did summat t'make you leave. It took a long time fer us t'fergive you, but we did. That's why it was so good t'see you again."
"Aye," Murphy said as he looked at the ceiling. "It was good t'see you again an' finally fight by yer side. That's why it hurt so much t'lose you. Not jus' because those assholes shot you, but because of th'damn cancer. We did tell our kids about you an' that you're one of our guardian angels. Miss you, Da."
"An' we love you," Connor included and he wrapped his arms around Annie and Murphy's waist. He noticed the sad look in Annie's eyes and he tilted his head to one side. "Are you ok?"
"Was just thinking. I'm like Uncle Daniel. I wasn't called," Annie said.
"But you're still our saintly sister," Murphy said.
"He's right. You have always kept us grounded an' have been there whenever we needed you," Connor added then he walked into the kitchen. He came back with a glass of water as he stood in front of Annie then dipped his fingers into the water.
"What are you doing?" Annie asked with a suspicious look.
"By th'power of God, Jesus an' th'Holy Spirit, I officially make you a Saint," Connor said as he sprayed her with the water in the sign of the Cross. "In Nomine Patris, et Filii…. You don't want me t'finish that shit."
"You are so weird," she said with a laugh and he hugged her.
"My turn!" Murphy said, taking the glass of water and sprayed her with the water in the sign of the cross.
"Stop it, Eejit."
"Make me, Brat," he said and she removed the glass of water from Murphy's hands.
"Knock it off," Connor said and they headed back into the family room. They sat on the couch as they placed their feet on the coffee table and Annie smiled after Connor handed her the remote. They placed their arms around her shoulders and Annie smiled.